IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v79y2012i9p1592-1604.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modeling the relationship between IT-mediated social capital and social support: Key mediating mechanisms of sense of group

Author

Listed:
  • Tsai, Yuan-Hui
  • Joe, Sheng-Wuu
  • Lin, Chieh-Peng
  • Wang, Rong-Tsu
  • Chang, Yu-Hsiang

Abstract

This study proposes a model based on social capital theory to explain the formation of social support in virtual groups. Although previous literature suggests a direct effect of social capital on social support in face-to-face groups (e.g., working teams), it remains uncertain if such an effect exists completely in the same way among virtual social groups that count heavily on computer-mediated communication. In this study's proposed model, social support is indirectly influenced by social capital and need for affiliation via the mediation of sense of group (which includes perceived membership, mutual influence, and immersion). Empirical testing of this model, by investigating working professionals in online social networking communities, confirms the applicability of social capital and need for affiliation among virtual groups. Group-level data were analyzed by the technique of path analysis to test our hypotheses. Lastly, managerial implications and limitations of the research are provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Tsai, Yuan-Hui & Joe, Sheng-Wuu & Lin, Chieh-Peng & Wang, Rong-Tsu & Chang, Yu-Hsiang, 2012. "Modeling the relationship between IT-mediated social capital and social support: Key mediating mechanisms of sense of group," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(9), pages 1592-1604.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:79:y:2012:i:9:p:1592-1604
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2012.05.013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162512001436
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2012.05.013?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Weisha & Shukla, Paurav & Shi, Guicheng, 2021. "Digitalized social support in the healthcare environment: Effects of the types and sources of social support on psychological well-being," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    2. Alexander Tatarko, 2013. "Is individual social capital linked to the implementation of entrepreneurial intentions?," HSE Working papers WP BRP 25/SOC/2013, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    3. Hajli, Nick & Sims, Julian, 2015. "Social commerce: The transfer of power from sellers to buyers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 350-358.
    4. Luo, Chuan & Lan, Yao & (Robert) Luo, Xin & Li, Han, 2021. "The effect of commitment on knowledge sharing: An empirical study of virtual communities," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    5. Wu, Po-Hsuan & Lin, Chieh-Peng, 2016. "Learning to foresee the effects of social identity complexity and need for social approval on technology brand loyalty," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 188-197.
    6. Hajli, M. Nick, 2014. "The role of social support on relationship quality and social commerce," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 17-27.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:79:y:2012:i:9:p:1592-1604. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.